Meteasa L. Collins Henderson comforted her client as they waited for the client's case to come before District Judge Susan Moquin.

THE BASICS

» Job: Legal services attorney» Salary range: Low $30,000 to $40,000s, depending on experience» Education, training required: Law degree from an accredited law school and must have passed the bar to practice law in Alabama» Employment statistics: Five attorneys cover a five-county area, which includes Madison, Jackson, Morgan, Limestone and Cullman counties.

The young woman wanted her former boyfriend to pay child support and have only supervised visitation with their 10-month-old daughter. She said he had a drug problem and had failed to return the baby when he was supposed to in the past. Until he got treatment for his problem, she didn't want her daughter alone with him.

"Everything will be fine," she told her client. Everything was. The boyfriend promised to follow the agreement Henderson had drawn up.

Henderson has good credentials for this child custody case and the other family law cases she handles for Legal Services of North Alabama. She's got a law degree from the University of Tennessee, which she attended on a full scholarship. She's got eight years' experience in family law. She might be pulling down big bucks in a private practice.

Instead, Henderson chooses to work for the state agency, which provides free legal service to clients in civil matters such as domestic-violence related divorce, child custody and support, paternity actions, consumer and debt-related problems, disability and unemployment benefits and evictions, among many other things.

It's often the only place poor people can get a lawyer for civil cases. The agency's clients have incomes that are at most 25 percent above the federal poverty line.

The agency gets grants from the federal government and from the Alabama Bar Foundation for domestic violence cases. Alabama has the lowest total state and local funding for legal services in the country, said Tom Keith, director of Legal Services of North Alabama.

"A lot of people come here to get their feet wet and leave because the pay is not good," said Henderson, 36. They also leave because it's stressful carrying at least 25 open cases at a time and splitting their time between counties.

"They've asked me several times if I'm going to move on, but I see myself retiring" as a legal services attorney, said Henderson.

She realized her career path when she was at Spelman College and volunteering in a legal clinic for homeless people. "That's when I knew I wanted to do something for low-income persons," Henderson said.

Her husband, Ceaser T. Henderson, understands why she's willing to work so hard for so little.

"He knows I love it," said Henderson.

She gets her passion for helping people from her parents, Edna and Joseph Collins. Her mother was a physical education aid for years, and the kids always knew she would tie their shoes or lend them money for lunch.

"I may not be the best attorney out there, but the representation comes from my heart," said Collins.

She gets wrapped up in her cases. "My clients' tears bring tears to my eyes," she said. She hates to lose a case, but the heartbreak comes when a client loses children in a custody battle. Henderson pauses and looks thoughtful, remembering a particularly painful case.

Henderson said she gets most frustrated by her clients' lack of money. They can't afford private detectives or other services that could help their cases. She also gets frustrated at the lack of time she has to devote to her cases and the long waiting lists for legal services clients.

"Most of the time, we're their last resort," said Henderson.

Despite the low pay and the tough work, she plans to hang in there.

"If it wasn't me, it might not be somebody else," said Henderson. "Who's going to replace me? So I stay. Somehow, somebody's going to get some help."

She knows she could make a lot more money. "But I could also be miserable," worrying about billable hours and other headaches.